GWEN

I stared out the window and took a deep breath. It was just what I needed at the moment.

moment.

The light wind swayed the branches of the shiny, green, and healthy olive tree. I looked down at

the beautiful garden; it cheered me up. It belonged to my mother.

The liar! She never came back.

It was a very peaceful morning in Dycan and also a day of celebration.

It was the first full moon.

It was a thing to be happy about, and all the wolves in Dycan looked forward to the transformation.

ceremony, when teenage wolves were wolfed out. They had to determine alpha wolves and outcasts.

like me. I belonged to the Omegas; we were the lowest and most pathetic in Dycan.

Transition festivals were much anticipated among the teenage wolves and their eager guardians. There were lots of fun activities to look forward to.

But this delightful day would always remind me of my own failure.

I could still remember the jeering and

spiteful face of the crowd two years ago when I didn't transform like the other wolves on the

first full moon. I could still remember the look of disappointment on my father's face as he

stood beside the king. The king's validation meant a lot to my father; he was the general of the

Dycan army. He had told me he didn't mind; he wasn't disappointed at all. I was his daughter.

matter what.

But deep down, I knew he was.

Ava, my stepsister, had a wide grin plastered on her face all through the rest of the

festival. I could swear that was the happiest day of her life.

With a deep sigh, I walked back to my bed and threw myself on it. There was going to

There will be a lot of howling tonight. It was going to be embarrassing for me and my family if I attended.

almost as good as a human. Other normal wolves picked on me a lot, with Ava as their

ringleader. I despised her a lot. We only had one thing in common: we both lost our mothers early.

Ava was a year older than me; her mom had passed away while giving birth to her.

I stared at my ceiling, wondering if he would be at the festival. I wondered if he would ever

notice someone as pathetic as I was. He was one of the strongest wolves in the pack. He moved among his pack; they were the strongest wolves in Dycan. I had a premonition that he was my mate, probably wishful thinking. If I'm being honest with myself, I didn't have that right. I was yet to transition; I was probably thinking from my heart, not my head. Derrick was no ordinary wolf; he needed a real mate, not a mutt. Never in the history of Dycan has any mutt become the alpha's mate or the Luna of Dycan. I was being delusional. It'd be a disaster—the most horrible match in history.

I was just an 18-year-old wolf who was yet to bloom. The moon goddess would never make that kind of mistake, would she?